Tranmere Rovers
The middle of the window looks murky
By Eric Harbottle
January 14 2023
Two weeks in. OK, so we have another 17 days left, we are not exactly in the middle, almost, and I assume nothing happens on a Sunday? It's not been particularly exciting, and at the moment it feels like there's more to mourn than celebrate. Maybe we will see something more exciting in the 2nd half of the window?
Undisclosed fees are ruling this window. I'm not sure what's the difference is between undisclosed and nominal, I suspect not very much. Keeping how much dosh you've got seems sensible in a market where greedy agents dominate. Football agents are worse than Estate Agents. They are greedier, shadier and even more anonymous. They inflate prices because they can. They also spread rumours to hurry the process along. 'Dodgy, failed player x is attracting interest from us and (insert name)'. I always wonder if the reality is that DFP is only on the radar of the Bizzies for local speeding offences and a propensity towards over exuberance in local nightclubs. We shall see.
We haven't got to the point, yet, of pursuing loan players. I reckon we have had a mixed record in this area. Sometimes loanees are impressive. At the start of his loan Simeu was awesome, but he gradually faded and then we never saw him again after his red card. Hawkes was great when we loaned him from Sunderland. Now there are rumours of other clubs being interested. He hasn't quite captured the excitement of his early arrival though, which is a pity. Hopefully he won't go and we will see him further improve. Then there is Glatzell, our Liverpool loanee. Nobody seems to know if he is on the path to recovery or about to exit from the game. We could do with someone a bit special in front of goal.
As for players that have gone the common refrain is that 'they are all replaceable'. You can't dispute that and it applies to everyone. Your dog is replaceable, your car, family members, etc it's just your support for Tranmere that isn't. There is no doubt that Elliot Nevitt is replaceable, same goes for Ross Doohan. The question is, can they be replaced with the same or better quality? That's a serious consideration for a team lying in the bottom third of the fourth tier. Where we are is not where we want to be, but getting higher requires improvements to the players available to the manager.
Therein lies another problem. When he first arrived Micky was able to sign players he had worked with in the past from Fleetwood, Blackpool and Shrewsbury. More recently it seems that the pool of known talent has dried up. I wonder if this is how managers 'get worse'. It's not that they 'don't know what they're doing', it's that their knowledge of available talent dissipates. Then they have to take risks and gambles. The risks don't pay off and hey presto, confidence ebbs.
All of this means that the club, and Micky Mellon in particular, needs a good transfer window. The jury has not even been assembled yet, it will be Easter before we know whether we have made inspired deals or deals that leave Micky perspiring. As fans, we hope for the best. At the moment though, the signs are not promising.
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14/01/2023 12:28
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For all we know, Brad may be the catalyst for the team scoring more goals. Vardy equivalents don't just magically appear for a bargain-basement price so it is hardly surprising Tranmere haven't found a striker they need.
Let's see how the team performs post-player-purge.
